Dear Reader,
Growing up in Southwest Florida, I believe I had a very typical elementary school experience for the time. I progressed through school with no major difficulties. However, one of the things that stuck with me throughout my school career was a hatred of writing. Writing was always present in my classrooms but it was never something to be celebrated. I learned to write in a skill and drill manner, with my teachers focusing on my grammar and punctuation. We primarily wrote during our writing block. In elementary school, I never had a teacher use writing across the curriculum. I was never encouraged to use writing as a form of self-expression or as a form of exploring topics in school.
Now I am a pre-service teacher at the University of Florida interested in expanding the use of writing in the classroom. I want students to have a better experience with writing than I had in order to develop an appreciation for it and discover how powerful it can be in their education. This multi genre research project is my attempt to make sense of the research that I have found to support writing across the curriculum. As standards continue to change, the stakes have gotten higher for students and teachers. The new Common Core standards hold students to greater expectations. Writing across the curriculum has become an important way for students to expand their knowledge and skills. Often times, teachers push writing to the side and students begin to hate writing. Many teachers accept students’ reluctance to write because they do not know what else to do. By integrating writing into different subject areas, student will have more exposure and opportunity to write. The benefits of writing across the curriculum can be substantial.
Growing up in Southwest Florida, I believe I had a very typical elementary school experience for the time. I progressed through school with no major difficulties. However, one of the things that stuck with me throughout my school career was a hatred of writing. Writing was always present in my classrooms but it was never something to be celebrated. I learned to write in a skill and drill manner, with my teachers focusing on my grammar and punctuation. We primarily wrote during our writing block. In elementary school, I never had a teacher use writing across the curriculum. I was never encouraged to use writing as a form of self-expression or as a form of exploring topics in school.
Now I am a pre-service teacher at the University of Florida interested in expanding the use of writing in the classroom. I want students to have a better experience with writing than I had in order to develop an appreciation for it and discover how powerful it can be in their education. This multi genre research project is my attempt to make sense of the research that I have found to support writing across the curriculum. As standards continue to change, the stakes have gotten higher for students and teachers. The new Common Core standards hold students to greater expectations. Writing across the curriculum has become an important way for students to expand their knowledge and skills. Often times, teachers push writing to the side and students begin to hate writing. Many teachers accept students’ reluctance to write because they do not know what else to do. By integrating writing into different subject areas, student will have more exposure and opportunity to write. The benefits of writing across the curriculum can be substantial.